Silver Linings Playbook

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence star in David O. Russell’s newest film

Before I start my review, let me just say I’ve never really embraced director David O. Russell’s films. I think he is a talented director but never considered him at the same level as his fellow contemporaries like Paul Thomas Anderson, Spike Jonze, or Wes Anderson or have ever really truly loved any of his films (with the exception of The Fighter). I was one of the people who couldn’t stand I Heart Huckabees, so I really didn’t know what to expect before seeing Russell’s newest film, Silver Linings Playbook. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. I hesitate to call Silver Linings Playbook one of the year’s best movies, but it is one of the stronger films I’ve seen all year and changes my perspective I have on Russell.

Silver Linings Playbook is about Pat (Bradley Cooper), a teacher who just leaves from an eight month stay at a mental hospital after beating up a man who has an affair with his wife Nikki. Nikki puts a restraining order on Pat, forcing him to move back with his mom Dolores (Jacki Weaver) and father Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro), a big Eagles fan. Pat soon meets a recently widowed woman named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) at a friend’s dinner part, who says she’ll give Nikki the letter if Pat helps her for a big dance contest. Pat agrees, and both practice while his father tries to reconnect with him.

Like Russell’s other films, Silver Linings Playbook is a family drama. It deals with the relationship between Pat Jr. and Sr., and establishes itself in a set of family values. But Silver Linings Playbook is also a screwball comedy which is filled with the brim with many gags, some of which are very funny and clever. I was reminded of the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm. Both shows make use of arguments as comic foil and I suspect much of the film was improved.

The movie’s greatest strength lies not in its script but in its actors. I can’t deny Russell’s film has great performances. Bradley Cooper is typically an actor I find smug but he was strong here. Lawrence has received much praise deservingly in her role as Tiffany. I think Robert De Niro though deserves the most credit. De Niro’s my favorite actor, and I feel that he hasn’t had a good role for about fifteen years or so. But he’s excellent here, and I’m glad he won an Oscar nomination.

Still, I wouldn’t call Silver Linings Playbook a perfect film. There were some bumps and a few problems I had, all very minor. But it’s certainly deserving of all the accolades it has received thus far this year. After this I’m more willing to see Russell’s next movie.

Responses

You mention I Heart Huckabees, which I’m surprised Russell directed, after SLP. Haven’t seen it, nor have I heard one bad thing about it. I think Huckabees is the definitive love-it-or-hate-it-film: our blogger friend Fernando once said he actually stopped the movie halfway through (a rental copy), broke it in half, and threw it away haha, but if you look on Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes, the love for it is amazing.

A personal story about SLP: my mother seems to love proving that she’s getting old. Every movie I’ve BEGGED to see for the last few months, she claims she’s never heard of. She skims through the Oscar noms: “Life of Pi? How come you just saw that? / What the hell’s an Amour? Isn’t that the song that’s been used in the TV commercials? / Silver Linings Playbook, I thought you’d want to see that? Are you depressed?” (No mother I’m not depressed you’re just losing brain cells haha.)

I actually don’t remember anything about what I Heart Huckabees was about (I don’t think I even finished it). I just remember disliking it so much. SLP is probably Russell’s most accessible work and I’d label it his second best after The Fighter. Thanks for commenting.